philippines a beautiful country
The Philippines – More Than Just a Place to Visit
By Choi Tong I
Clear blue skies with clouds formed into different pictures; a jolly sun, with the most brilliant sunshine that lights up nature; grateful and pleasant people, with the brightest smiles that build up their unique culture. These form the Philippines, a place where you can learn the real meaning of life, and how to appreciate things around. A week’s exchange program, a lifetime’s awakening. This is the most amazing and fruitful trip that I have ever had. Attitude is one of the most profound lessons I have learnt throughout my trip in the Philippines. Wherever you are and whomever you are with, you can feel the Filipinos’ passion towards their jobs and country. No matter what they are–sales staff, taxi drivers, security guards or simply strangers passing—Filipinos wear lovely smiles on their faces. Even when they are stuck in traffic or in a long queue, they are still happy enjoying music, or chatting with friends. The students and staff in my host university, the Ateneo de Manila University, were all very nice and enthusiastic in introducing us their campus and culture; they even used their spare time to bring us around Manila, and they cared about us a lot. Their love and care had really touched me deeply. One organization that I must mention is the Gawad Kalinga in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. The organization helps in building houses for the poor and helping them to legally own their homes. Houses in the Gawad Kalinga village are colorfully painted like a theme park, and the reason behind it is simple – they want to cheer up the poor families with beautiful colors. What the organization builds are not only houses, but homes and shelters. Under the strong heat of the sun, I couldn’t hear them grumble. Instead, I could hear cheers and laughter. The people there owned the brightest smiles I
By Choi Tong I
Clear blue skies with clouds formed into different pictures; a jolly sun, with the most brilliant sunshine that lights up nature; grateful and pleasant people, with the brightest smiles that build up their unique culture. These form the Philippines, a place where you can learn the real meaning of life, and how to appreciate things around. A week’s exchange program, a lifetime’s awakening. This is the most amazing and fruitful trip that I have ever had. Attitude is one of the most profound lessons I have learnt throughout my trip in the Philippines. Wherever you are and whomever you are with, you can feel the Filipinos’ passion towards their jobs and country. No matter what they are–sales staff, taxi drivers, security guards or simply strangers passing—Filipinos wear lovely smiles on their faces. Even when they are stuck in traffic or in a long queue, they are still happy enjoying music, or chatting with friends. The students and staff in my host university, the Ateneo de Manila University, were all very nice and enthusiastic in introducing us their campus and culture; they even used their spare time to bring us around Manila, and they cared about us a lot. Their love and care had really touched me deeply. One organization that I must mention is the Gawad Kalinga in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. The organization helps in building houses for the poor and helping them to legally own their homes. Houses in the Gawad Kalinga village are colorfully painted like a theme park, and the reason behind it is simple – they want to cheer up the poor families with beautiful colors. What the organization builds are not only houses, but homes and shelters. Under the strong heat of the sun, I couldn’t hear them grumble. Instead, I could hear cheers and laughter. The people there owned the brightest smiles I